NOtES ON COLLECTING. 265 



of tipped refusr. A sudden shower then put an end to our collecting, 

 and to hopes of Anhoto)na, the chief purport of our quest that after- 

 noon. — T. Hudson Beark, F.E.S., 10, Regent Terrace, Edinburgh. 



Aphanisticus emarginatus, F. : a species of coleoptera new to 



Britain. 



By HOKACE ST. J. K. DONISTHOKPE, F./.S., F.E.S. 



When sweeping in Parkhurst Forest, Isle of Wight, on August 7th 

 last I found a little beetle in my net, which I took to be Aphaiiuticaa 

 pi(>iillt(s, the only species of the genus known to occur in Britain. As 

 this was new to me, I remarked to Mr. Malcolm Burr, who was with me at 

 the time, that I had taken a rare beetle, and must try and get more. After 

 some little search, an open glade was struck which appeared to me to 

 be just the place, and a little sweeping soon produced more. After 

 some 50 specimens had been obtained, we returned to Freshwater. I 

 visited the spot twice afterwards, and in all took over 200 specimens, 

 and could have taken many more. The beetles were all swept from 

 rushes in flower. When I got home I proceeded to distribute specimens 

 among my friends, amongst others Dr. .Joy, who told me he had swept one 

 specimen of Ajihani^ticiis piisilln^ in his own district. When he was 

 setting the specimens I had given him, he was struck by the difference 

 in shape between his insect and mine, and wrote to me about it. At 

 first I thought he might have a new species, but on thinking the 

 matter over, it seemed to me more probable that from an old forest 

 like Parkhurst mine would be the new one. On working mine out 

 with Aclogue [Fatine de France), I at once came to the conclusion 

 that such was the case, and that my species was Aphanisticus 

 eiiHvuiinatHs, F. On comparing them with types at the museum, I 

 found that I was correct, and thus have the pleasure of making a very 

 interesting addition to our list. 



The distribution of A. onariiinattis is, according to the European 

 catalogue, Southern and Middle Europe. It differs considerably from 

 A. piisilitis in shape, being longer, more cylindrical, and the elytra 

 more narrowed in the middle, thus giving the insect what one might 

 describe as a longer waist ; the thorax, moreover, is much less 

 transverse. The apex of the elytra in the g (?) is flattened, and 

 exhibits a slight depression, that of the $ (?) being simple. 



In Canon Fowler's C(jI. Brit, hies, iv., p. 71, under ApJtanistiriis 

 jinsiUiis, there is a record " Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight." This 

 refers to a specimen taken by Canon Fowler himself, who tells me he 

 lost it. It is quite possible that this specimen was my species, as 

 Parkhurst Forest is very near to Carisbrooke. 



:^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. 



CuEious i;estin(;-habit of Mania maura. — I have recently come 

 across a curious resting-habit of Mania maiira. I found no less than 

 fifteen of them in a space something under a yard square. They were 

 " piled up," if I may use the term, in one instance seven were touch- 

 ing each other. In the majority of cases their heads were together, 

 so that they were resting similarly to the way moths sometimes 

 cluster round a spot of treacle. — Mervyn G. Palmer, 6, Court Road, 

 West Norwood, S.E. September lOth, 1903. 



